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General Information Area: Antigua: 280 sq km (108 sq miles); Barbuda: 161 sq km (62 sq miles); Redonda: 1.6 sq km (0.6 sq miles). Total: 441.6 sq km (170.5 sq miles). Population: 69,866 (official estimate 1998). Population Density: 158.1 per sq km. Capital: St John’s. Population: 22,342 (1991). GEOGRAPHY: Antigua & Barbuda comprises three islands; Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda. Low-lying and volcanic in origin, they are part of the Leeward Islands group in the northeast Caribbean. Antigua’s coastline curves into a multitude of coves and harbours (they were once volcanic craters) and there are more than 365 beaches of fine white sand, fringed with palms. The island’s highest point is Boggy Peak (402m, 1318ft); its capital is St John’s. Barbuda lies 40km (25 miles) north of Antigua and is an unspoiled natural haven for wild deer and exotic birds. Its 8km-long (5-mile) beach is reputed to be amongst the most beautiful in the world. The island’s village capital, Codrington, was named after the Gloucestershire family that once leased Barbuda from the British Crown for the price of ‘one fat pig per year if asked for’. There are excellent beaches and the ruins of some of the earliest plantations in the West Indies. The coastal waters are rich with all types of crustaceans and tropical fish. Redonda, smallest in the group, is little more than an uninhabited rocky islet. It lies 40km (25 miles) southwest of Antigua. Government: Constitutional monarchy. Gained internal full independence in 1981. Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth II, represented locally by Governor-General Sir James Carlisle since 1993. Head of Government: Prime Minister Lester Bird since 1994. Language: English is the official language. English patois is widely spoken. Religion: Anglican, Methodist, Moravian, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist and others. Time: GMT - 4. Electricity: 220/110 volts AC, 60Hz. American-style two-pin plugs. Some hotels also have outlets for 240 volts AC; in this case European-style, two-pin plugs are used. Telephone IDD is available to all numbers. Country code: 1 268. Outgoing international code: 011. Mobile telephone GSM 900/1900 and TDMA networks. Network providers include APUA and Cable & Wireless Caribbean Cellular (website: www.caribcell.com). Roaming agreements exist. Unregistered roaming is available – visitors with TDMA handsets can make calls without registering, provided they can give a credit card number. Fax Services are widely available. Many hotels have fax facilities. Internet ISPs include Cable & Wireless (website: www.cwantigua.com). Facilities are available at the offices of Cable & Wireless in Long Street, St John’s. Telegram Facilities are offered by Cable & Wireless (West Indies). Post Poste Restante service is available at the post office in St John’s. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1300-1600. Press Some newspapers have political or governmental associations. All are in English. The main newspaper is The Daily Observer. The Outlet is published weekly and the Antigua Sun twice a week. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 15.19 12.10 6.195 5.975 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 13.79 9.455 6.130 5.995 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.